Embattled Mack makes public appearance, uses bully pulpit

Trenton city employee Paul Harris, credited for organizing the second annual NJ Disabilities Pride Parade in Trenton, is pictured with New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, at the parade.

TRENTON — Embattled Mayor Tony Mack, who made few public appearances since federal authorities raided his home in July, has attended the 2nd annual Disability Pride Parade & Celebration on Friday and asserted his bully pulpit on Monday in vowing to keep the city’s five senior centers open.

Mack told more than 300 people in attendance that the city will welcome a third annual disability parade next year. The event, which seeks to promote diversity, inclusion and public awareness of people with disabilities, was also attended by New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, but Mack left the event before Menendez arrived.

City water works employee Paul Harris, who organizes recreation functions, posed with Menendez at the parade, which marched from the Statehouse to East Lafayette Street. Menendez spoke at a podium emblazoned with the official City of Trenton seal on it.

Showing he’s still the top official at City Hall, Mack on Monday delivered strong comments condemning West Ward Councilman Zachary Chester’s suggestion for the city to consider closing two of its five senior centers. Chester gave that suggestion as an idea for how the city can cut costs and scale back on Mack’s proposed 19-cent tax rate hike.

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“We will not balance this budget on the backs of our seniors,” Mack said in a statement vowing he’ll keep the senior centers open for the foreseeable future. “Our senior centers dramatically improve the quality of life for our city’s aging population. … These centers are akin to social clubs that are free and public for Trentonians over the age of 60.”

The FBI raided Mack’s house and Trenton City Hall in mid-July and arrested Mack Sept. 10 on charges he conspired with others to extort $119,000 from a Hudson County developer. The mayor is free on $150,000 unsecured bond.

The Mack administration on Sept. 25 proposed to increase the municipal tax rate to $3.88 per $100 assessed property value to support a $4 million tax levy increase. The purpose of the proposed increase is to cover a projected $4 million gap between revenues and appropriations.

“My goal is to take that proposed tax increase of 19 cents and take it below 5,” Chester said during City Council’s public meeting last Thursday. He said the city needs to take a hard look at areas to cut from and suggested the city may have to close two of the five senior centers and that curbside trash may have to be picked up once a week instead of two times.

A copy of the mayor’s calendar obtained by The Trentonian shows that, prior to the July 18 raid by FBI agents, Mack’s mayoral schedule included conferences with the Urban Parks Commission, meetings with council members and even ribbon-cutting ceremonies at local establishments.

After the raid, the mayor had a 10-day vacation on his schedule and missed a cabinet meeting on July 24. The mayor re-emerged at the opening of the East Trenton Learning Center on July 30 but had taken a low profile since then up until his attendance at the disability parade last week.

City Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson has been active with meetings since the FBI’s raids, with Hutchinson serving as acting mayor during Mack’s post-raid vacation. “Mr. Hutchinson is keeping the city afloat at this point,” North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson said last week.

Hutchinson presented the 19-cent tax rate hike proposal to City Council but also said the Mack administration will work with council to try to close the $4 million gap between projected revenues and appropriations.

A property owner who lives in a house assessed at $100,000 would pay $190 more in taxes if the rate increases by 19 cents. With county and school taxes factored in with the proposed municipal tax increase, a resident living in a home assessed at $100,000 would have a $5,730 total tax bill, according to the administration’s budget presentation.

“The City of Trenton will not become a community that ignores the contributions and dues our seniors have paid,” Mack said. “While we recognize City Council’s statutory role on budgetary matters, we are hopeful that Council will not cheat our seniors.”

About the Author

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman has been working as a professional journalist since graduating from Temple University in 2007. Prior to his current stint at The Trentonian, Abdur-Rahman worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer and wrote a self-published memoir about his 12-month experience of living in Australia on a spouse visa. Reach the author at sulaiman@trentonian.com
or follow Sulaiman on Twitter: @sabdurr.